


Welcome To New York

by PigSlay



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Sex Mentions, but no actual sex sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-09
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-28 19:28:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2744330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PigSlay/pseuds/PigSlay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry writes for the New York Times and it's their first holiday in NYC/away from home. Harry is sad and Niall decides to make their Christmas really special.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dorkstagram](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorkstagram/gifts).



> I don’t know One Direction. To the person receiving this: in the assignment it said “Explicit” for the Rating for this one but I wasn’t sure if that meant that was the maximum rating you wanted or the only rating you wanted. Since there was no explicit content in the summary, I went with the first guess. If it’s the second one, I apologize but I hope you still like it anyway.

“Good morning,” Niall says, causing Harry to open his eyes. He’s practically standing on top of Harry on the bed, holding out a plate. Harry jumps back, caught off guard by how close the two are. Niall doesn’t seem to notice or care though. He holds the plate closer to Harry’s face. “I made you banana pancakes.”

Harry takes the plate from him, taking a bite of one of the pancakes. “What’s this all about?” he asks between chewing, attempting to wake himself up.

Niall looks almost offended. “What? A guy can’t do something nice for his boyfriend?” Harry lowers his eyebrows, giving him a condescending look because Niall almost always has some bad news when he does things like this. “Sorry to hurt your feelings but I seriously don’t have any bad news to report.” Harry sighs with relief, continuing to stuff his face with banana pancakes. Maybe he shouldn’t doubt his boyfriend’s kind motions so often. “Oh, and Zayn and Louis are coming over here tonight.”

Harry nearly chokes on his pancakes, resulting in a confused look from Niall. “Are you losing it? We both have so much to do at work today and my manager said she needed to see me for a very important meeting today. I don’t want to leave those two alone in here for hours.”

Niall snorts. “And _I'm_ the one losing it? First of all, when was the last time she called you to a meeting about something that’s actually important? She’ll probably just be giggling about her girlfriend again. Second of all, we’ve left them alone here plenty of times in the past.”

“Yeah, and what happened last time we did?” Harry points the plate in his direction angrily. “They had _sex_ on my bed Niall. I still haven’t forgotten.” He cringes remembering it. With one pointed look from Niall though, he sighs. “Fine. But if they pull anything like that again I’m burning their houses down.”

Niall giggles at that, losing his serious face. That’s one of Harry’s favorite things about Niall; even though he tries so hard to be serious, eventually his happiness takes over. Harry’s thankful that he’s one of the people who can cause such a reaction in Niall. It’s contagious too. Harry starts smiling as well, even though he’s trying really hard to be angry. It’s almost impossible to be angry with Niall around him.

***

Harry has always loved the New York Times. Even though most people living here in DC would probably rather work for the Washington Post, he never saw the hype around it. Ever since he was in high school he knew he wanted to work for the New York Times. Finding out it was possible to send articles to them in NY from where he lived was the best feeling ever.

Just as he’s about to finish typing up his latest article – unemployment has dropped to 5.8% – and send it in for editing, someone knocks on his cubicle. He looks at the time and turns around, sighing. It’s time for the meeting, he guesses. “Come on in.”

Someone enters, sporting a short sleeved light blue top and long black pants. “Hi Harry.”

“Hey Liam,” Harry responds, starting to stand up. “Let me guess. She wants me now?”

Liam nods. “And I’d be careful if I were you. Something tells me this is much more than just a chat about how great her girlfriend’s blue hair is.”

“Great,” Harry mutters under his breath, walking out of the cubicle and heading towards their boss’s office.

When he gets there, several other people are waiting and staring at him. It’s not really that many in comparison to the rest of the company, but it’s still a fair amount. “You’re late,” their boss says at the front in an uncharacteristically angry voice.

Harry gulps, suddenly very worried about how this meeting is going to go. “Sorry Ms. Cabello.” He sits down next to one of his co-workers named Angela; a blonde woman who always wears suits and converse. Odd combination in Harry’s opinion but he’s come to like it.

“Now,” Ms. Cabello says, bringing everyone’s attention back to her. “I’ve called you all here for a very special announcement. We’ve decided that everyone in this room has been hard-working enough and dedicated enough to this company that” – _Please be a raise_ , Harry thinks to himself – “all of you are going to go to New York City this holiday season. We’ll leave two weeks after Thanksgiving and won’t be back until the day after Christmas.”

Everybody cheers, but Harry just sits there, hoping his level of uncertainty at this news won’t show. He can’t, however, stop himself from asking “so is this an option or is it required?”

Ms. Cabello laughs really hard all at once, resulting in laughs from the other people in the room as well. “No Harry, it’s not an option. You are more than welcome to bring someone else with you if that’s what you’re worried about though. Just be warned we’ll be working there the week of Christmas, so might want to get your shopping done early.”

Another guy named John raises his hand, but doesn’t wait to get called on. “Wait so will we be working on the actual day of Christmas?”

Ms. Cabello thinks about this for a moment. “Anyone who volunteers will be, but I’d be a jerk if I didn’t give you a day off to celebrate the holiday. Any other questions?” When no one else asks any questions, she says, “Well, you can all go back to your cubicles now. That’s all I called you here for.”

“Wow, not a single mention of her girlfriend this time,” somebody whispers under their breath as everyone starts forming a line, resulting in a chuckle from a few people.

“Oh, and Nora says hello,” she says with a smile as they all start heading out the door.

Everybody else seems to go back to their cubicles happy and excited thanks to this announcement, but Harry goes back on autopilot, feeling emotionless and trying to digest what’s going to happen. He doesn’t want to go to New York City on the week of Christmas, even if this is what so many people working for the New York Times dream of. He doesn’t like the idea of being away from home that week. Sure, Ms. Cabello says he’s allowed to bring someone with him, and of course he’s going to ask Niall, but he also wanted to spend that time with Zayn, Louis, and his other friends and family as well.

He spends the rest of the day on autopilot, not really paying much attention to what he’s writing. Finally his eyes go down to the bottom of the computer screen and he sees that it’s 4:30; time for him to leave. He saves his work, logs off, picks up his bags, and starts walking outside. As soon as he gets to the car and starts it up, his mom calls him.

“Hey mum,” he says as he backs out of the driveway.

“Hi Harry, how’s it going?” his mom responds.

“Alright. Just got off from work.” He sighs. “Umm… Listen…”

“Wait, hold on, I think I just heard someone at the door. Be right back.” Harry waits as she answers the door. He sighs. He doesn’t want to have to do this; tell his mom that he’s not going to be at home for Christmas. He wonders why everyone else at the meeting was so excited. Do they not also have people who they go to see on Christmas? “I’m back now. The new Christmas tree ornaments just arrived. I’m so excited.” The happiness in her voice makes Harry’s heart sink even more. “Harry?”

“Sorry,” he responds, taking a deep breath. It’s now or never. “Listen, mum. Today during work they called me and a few other writers in for a meeting and…”

“Oh. How’s Nora doing?” his mom laughs.

“I’m not going to be home on Christmas,” he says all at once, ignoring her. There’s a moment of silence and his heart starts beating quickly.

“What do you mean?” she sounds like she’s trying to stop herself from getting sad, which makes Harry sad.

“Ms. Cabello said that a few of us writers are going to be going to New York City for the Christmas holiday so I’m not going to be back until the day after Christmas.”

His mom sighs. “Well, I’m happy that you got what sounds like a promotion. We’ll miss you while you’re gone though.”

“I’ll miss you too mum.”

“Well,” she responds, obviously not sure what else is left to say. “I’ve got to go put these ornaments in the closet for safe keeping until we have a tree. Be sure to call me on Christmas, alright?”

“I will,” Harry promises. “Bye mum.”

“Bye Harry.” They hang up and Harry pulls into the driveway at his and Niall’s house. As he gets his stuff and opens the door, he can hear what’s clearly Zayn and Louis’s laughs coming from inside. He sighs. _Great_ , he thinks to himself. _Let’s see what those two are up to now._

As soon as he gets inside he sees Zayn and Louis aren’t the only two causing trouble. In the kitchen he sees Zayn, Louis, and Niall all in the middle of a water gun fight. Thankfully, from the looks of it, they haven’t broken anything though (yet). As soon as Harry sets down his bag on the chair next to the door, Niall stops. It takes Zayn and Louis a few moments before they follow suite.

“Harry, you’re home!” Niall runs up to him and wraps his wet arms around him. Harry barely returns the hug, still not feeling happy, even with the nice embrace of his love. Niall notices this apparently and pulls back. “What? Am I too wet or something? It was their idea!” He motions in Zayn and Louis’s direction.

Zayn and Louis start to protest but stop as soon as Harry looks up at all three of them with a sad face. “What’s wrong babe?” Zayn asks, moving closer to him and putting a hand on his arm. Louis follows and stands to Zayn’s right.

Harry puts his bag to the side, sits down on the chair, and buries his head in his hands. “Ms. Cabello called several of us into her office today and… I’m not going to be here on Christmas.”

Niall sounds concerned now. “What do you mean you’re not going to be here?”

Harry looks up at him, trying to stop the tears in his eyes from starting. “Two weeks after Thanksgiving, me and a few other writers are going to New York City and are staying there for the Christmas holidays.” He looks around and everyone’s gaping at him.

Louis is the first one to speak. “Sweet! Zayn, we’re going to New York City this Christmas.”

Zayn slaps his shoulder. “Don’t be rude.” When Louis starts fake pouting and holding his shoulder though, Zayn rolls his eyes and gives him a kiss.

Niall shakes his head and turns his attention back to Harry. “So she just let you know today? Why didn’t she tell you sooner? Thanksgiving is only in three days.”

Harry shrugs, wiping his eyes. “I don’t know but I don’t want to do it. Unfortunately though I have no choice.” He puts his head between his legs, finally giving into the tears. “I don’t want to have to be that far away from my friends and family.”

Even though his words were probably cut off by the fact that his head was between his legs, Niall still seems to understand. “Hey, it’s going to be alright.” He lifts Harry’s head up to face him. “Look. You’re not going to be far away from your friends, okay? You know why? Because we’re all going with you.”

Louis’s face perks up into the biggest smile Harry’s ever seen, mouth open. It almost makes him want to smile too, almost. “Are you completely sure that’s a good idea?” he tries to make the fact that he’s worried about what Zayn and Louis will do there discrete, but to no avail.

“Oh come on,” Louis complains, sounding like a ten year old who was just told they can’t have any more candy tonight. “I promise I won’t burn your fancy hotel down if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“No one said anything about fancy hotels,” Harry mumbles.

“Harry,” Niall tries. “I don’t want you to be lonely and sad on Christmas. I’ll request that week off work and we can all go together.”

Harry looks back and forth between the three of them. Louis has his eyes closed and is mouthing ‘please please please’ over and over again. How can he say no? “Alright,” he finally decides. Spending Christmas with your boyfriend and two best friends in New York City doesn’t sound that bad. What’s the worst that could happen?

“Yay!” Louis says, jumping up and down with happiness. Harry laughs. He’s so cute when he wants to be.

Niall smiles as well. “Great. Now that that’s settled, how about we get something to eat? Nando’s sound good to everybody?” He offers Harry a hand.

Harry shakes his head fondly. Niall is so obsessed with that place. Harry grabs his hand and stands up. Somehow he’s thinking he may end up liking this trip after all.

***

“Harry are you serious?” Ms. Cabello asks. She’s being quiet, Harry knows, because she wants to be professional, but he also knows if she could she’d probably be yelling at him right now. He just told her about his plan to bring Zayn, Louis, and Niall all along with him to New York City.

“What? You said we could bring people with us!” Harry protests.

“I said you could bring a person with you,” she points out. “Not three.”

He huffs. “Alright, fine. How about this? I’ll take Niall with me and Zayn and Louis will ride there separately.”

She shrugs. “Whatever floats your boat. As long as they’re not all on my bill I don’t care.” She walks away from his cubicle after that.

“Not like you couldn’t afford it,” he mutters under his breath. He returns to his work, but not before shooting Zayn and Louis an email about what she said. He gets two responses back within a few minutes.

**Zayn:** that’s ok with me babe. Not sure how Lou’ll react but he’ll live aha :) x

**Louis:** That’s absolute rubbish. Who does she think she is? Your boss or something? Well… I guess she kinda is. Whatever, I’m going there one way or another whether she likes it or not.

Harry laughs at the difference between the two messages. Zayn and Louis are so different, yet at the same time so alike. It’s one of his favorite things about them.

That night when he gets home, Niall has made tacos for dinner and blueberry muffins for dessert. “Oh my gosh, you’ve been spoiling me so much lately,” Harry says, giving Niall a big hug and kiss. “What did I ever do to deserve this?”

“Be the best boyfriend in the world,” Niall responds, rubbing their noses against each other’s. He giggles, pulling out a chair and motioning for Harry to sit. “Besides I want to make sure the days leading up to this trip are awesome since you were kind of upset when you first found out about the fact you were going to be away from home.”

“I’ve gotten better,” Harry tries to say, biting into a piece of the taco. He really has too; he hasn’t cried at all in the past week, but that may be because he feels like he’s bothering Niall by talking about his problems all the time, even though Niall has assured him time and time again that he’s always there to listen and comfort him. Harry’s always afraid that eventually Niall will grow tired of listening to him cry, even if he knows that’s not true.

“I know you have darling,” Niall tells him, sitting down on the chair next to him and pulling him into another hug. “I just want the best for you is all.” 

That causes a huge smile to perk up on Harry’s lips, even though his mouth is full of food so it probably looks weird. Niall doesn’t comment or laugh though (which he usually has no problem holding back), so it can’t be too bad. Harry quickly swallows and pulls Niall into another kiss. Even though they both taste like taco, neither of them care. “I love you,” Harry says when he pulls back.

“I love you too,” Niall responds, giving him another huge smile that makes his heart flutter.

They spend the rest of the night playing video games. Niall would never admit it out loud, but Harry knows he’s letting him win tonight. Niall never loses by so much at this game. They fall asleep in a tight cuddle.

The next day neither of them have work so the two sleep in. When Niall wakes up, Harry feels him leaving but doesn’t open his eyes until about a half an hour later. When he gets into the kitchen, Niall has once again already made their breakfast (or brunch at this point). Macaroni and cheese, as well as pumpkin pie, are all out on the table.

“You know,” Harry tells him, sitting down and taking a sip of his water. “My mum would probably kill you for spoiling me this much.” Harry’s mom has been a firm believer that her kids should always make food for themselves ever since they learned how to, no matter what.

Niall laughs. “Oh come on. It’s Thanksgiving. She should be understanding.” Harry gives him a judgmental look. “Okay maybe not.” They both laugh. “She doesn’t have to know though.”

“So true,” Harry responds, digging into the macaroni and cheese. The two of them spend the rest of the day in each other’s arms practically, watching TV together and eating more delicious food.


	2. Chapter 2

As the car gets in park, Harry checks for the billionth time that he has everything. Camera – check, notebook – check, laptop – check. Oh no, where’s his cell phone? He thought for sure he had it just five minutes ago. Where could it have-

Niall puts Harry’s phone in his face, causing him to look up. Niall gives him a raised eyebrow and amused look. Harry grabs the phone and returns to making sure he has everything. Niall giggles and uses his finger to raise Harry’s face to his again. “Babe, you got everything. Relax.” Harry wants to protest, but Niall pulls him into a kiss and all his worries fade away.

When he pulls away, the big smile on Niall’s face makes him think that, at least for now, everything’s going to be okay. It’s hard to not worry when he’s never been this far from home for this long though. “Okay,” comes a voice from the front. Ms. Cabello wanted to come along, but her boss wouldn’t let her leave the DC office, so they sent someone named Jess in her place. “Everyone get out one at a time. We have a few things to discuss before we head to the hotel.” Harry and Niall oblige, leaving their bags in their seats and getting out behind the other guy in the car with them named Jake. They’re at a gas station.

“Alright,” Jess says to the three of them, reloading the gas while doing so. “Just a few things before we head off to the hotel. You’ll all be given your room number and keys when you first enter it. You’re allowed to have visitors, but please don’t let them distract you from your work.”

 _So Louis was right about the ‘fancy hotel’ thing after all_ , Harry thinks to himself. After a few moments, when Jess is finally done with reloading and paying for the gas, they all get back in the car and start heading to the hotel. The hotel isn’t that much farther from the gas station. Niall and Harry spend most of it singing along to various songs on the radio and kissing each other.

“Sheesh do you two ever come up for air?” Jake asks in front of them.

“Oh please,” Harry says back. “As if you and Emma aren’t the same way. I saw you two getting freaky in your cubicle on her birthday last month.”

“‘Getting freaky?’” Jake questions. “We kissed for like five seconds while she made dinosaur shaped pancakes.”

“Yep, like I said, freaky.” Following an eye roll from Jake and giggles from Niall, Harry returns to kissing him. 

A few minutes later, Harry feels a finger on his shoulder. “We’re here,” Jake says in a monotone. 

Harry was probably so busy focusing on Niall’s delicious lips he didn’t even notice the car had stopped moving. The two of them turn to each other and laugh at the fact. “Thanks.”

They pick up their bags and walk out the door side by side. When they first enter the hotel room they’ll be staying in, Niall immediately goes to the fridge. Harry sits down on one of the two beds and sends a text to Zayn and Louis telling them where the hotel is, what their hotel room number is, and asking when they’ll be here.

“This place is amazing,” Niall says a few seconds later, coming over to where Harry’s sitting and sitting down next to him.

Harry shrugs. “It’s just like any other hotel.”

“Well I wouldn’t know, would I?” Niall snaps. “I rarely get to go to any hotels.” Harry giggles and starts to pull Niall into a hug. “No,” Niall persists. Harry pouts at him. “You know I can’t resist when you look like that.” They both giggle and proceed to hug each other.

“I’m so glad you’re here with me Niall,” Harry says to him. “I don’t know how I would survive being here on my own.”

Niall smiles at him sadly. “Well luckily you won’t have to find out.”

Harry smiles back, then feels a buzzing from his pocket. He pulls away from the hug and looks at the texts he has.

_**Zayn:** we should be there in about 2 hours , overslept as usual , sorry aha :) x_

_**Louis:** See ?? I told you: fancy hotel !! We should be there in about 2 hours. Zayn overslept as usual…_

Harry laughs and shows the texts to Niall, who laughs as well. “Those two,” Niall adds. “What are we gonna do with them?”

“I don’t know,” Harry responds, shaking his head. “But I do know I’m hungry. Wanna order room service?”

“It’s like you read my mind,” Niall replies, resulting in more giggles from Harry.

***

It’s the night before Christmas. Harry feels like overall he’s been holding it together up till this point. Well, there was that time his mom texted him with ‘missing you’ and he nearly lost it but overall he’s held it together pretty well and gotten his job done, he thinks. Now though, it’s like it’s finally clicking in his brain that tomorrow is Christmas and he’s not going to be at home with his family. He opens the door to the hotel room, not even taking a moment to look at what Zayn, Louis, and Niall may be up to, and runs to the bed, collapsing on it.

He tries and fails not to cry, not because he wants to appear ‘tough’ or anything, but because he doesn’t want to disturb the other three boys and whatever they may be doing right now. “I hate this,” he yells into the pillow, repeating those three words over and over again. Suddenly he hears footsteps coming towards him and feels hands rubbing his back. He doesn’t remove his face from the pillow though. “I can’t take this anymore, Niall. This is awful.” He doesn’t know why he thought he’d be able to handle this, not that he had much of a choice in the matter. Even with Niall, Zayn, and Louis here with him, he can’t take being here instead of at home.

“What’s awful?” Louis asks. At that, Harry looks up and turns to face him. He’s standing on the other side of the bed, Zayn by his side.

Harry turns to face Niall, still sitting on the other side of him and rubbing his back. He doesn’t want to have to tell Zayn and Louis that he hates being here when they’ve probably never been happier. Niall must read his mind because he says to the two of them “can you give us a few minutes alone?”

“Of course,” Zayn obliges immediately. Louis lingers on for a while with a confused look on his face, but Zayn eventually rolls his eyes and drags Louis away past the wall that separates the two beds. Harry waits until he hears the TV click on to return to crying into the pillow.

After a few moments, he turns to face Niall, tears making his face blurred. “I miss my mum, and my dad, and my sister. I can’t do this Niall, I can’t…” he’s cut off by crying again.

“Hey,” Niall says sweetly. “Look at me.” Harry tries but it’s still difficult with all of his tears. “I know you miss everyone. I do too, even if they can be a pain in the neck at times.” That makes Harry chuckle just a little bit despite himself. “But listen. I’m going to make sure tomorrow is the best Christmas we’ve ever had.”

“I don’t see how that’s possible in New York City, a million miles away from home,” Harry responds, putting his head on Niall’s shoulder. Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, he reminds himself. It’s only four hours away. It still feels so much further though.

“It will be though,” Niall assures him, rubbing his back again. “I promise.” Still sobbing, Harry pulls him into a long and tight hug.

“Um,” comes Zayn’s voice. Harry turns to him, look probably betraying the annoyance he feels. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re out of ice and Louis is wanting some food.”

“So order room service and include ice water in your order,” Niall waves off.

Harry sighs and sits up. “No, I can go get it.”

“You sure?” Niall asks, sounding worried. “I don’t want to make you do too much in this condition.”

Harry smiles, wiping his tears. “I appreciate the concern but I think I can handle getting some food and ice.”

“Okay,” Niall says, still not sounding certain but not pushing the issue any further.

“I’ll be back,” Harry tells him, getting off the bed and grabbing his wallet. Maybe getting out of this hotel room is just what he needs right now, even if it’s only for a few minutes.

He walks down to the food court, passing a few of his co-workers as he goes. When he gets there he immediately recognizes the person behind the counter. “Barbara?”

Barbara looks up at him and immediately gets a smile on her face. “Harry!”

“Wha – what are you doing here?” Harry questions, surprised to see her. “I thought you were running the bakery back home in DC.”

“I did,” Barbara nods. “But I recently got married and my husband doesn’t want to leave his grandchildren that live here so I moved here instead.”

Harry’s jaw drops. He remembers Barbara always told him about wanting to find a husband someday but thinking it was impossible because of her age. “That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you.” He reaches over the counter to hug her shoulders, and she’s quick to return the favor.

“Thank you Harry,” she responds, smiling widely. “And what brings you here during this time of year?”

“Umm…” he tries to not let the tears build back up right now. “Well, I was assigned to work here during the holiday season this year. For the New York Times, you know.”

Someone behind him scoffs. “Hey, can you hurry along this reunion? Some of us actually wanna eat sometime this century.”

“We can talk more later,” Barbara whispers. Harry nods in agreement. “So, what do you want?”

Harry orders a cheese pizza, since Louis didn’t give him a definite food to order, as well as two ice waters and some hot tea for himself. It’s a bit difficult to make sure he doesn’t spill anything as he stumbles back up the stairs. He wishes he’d taken the elevator. 

He uses the pizza box to knock on the door to his room. All talking that was going on a few seconds ago ends and someone walks up to open the door. “Woah,” Niall says, taking in all he’s holding. “Let me help you.” He grabs the two ice waters from Harry’s hands (which by now just have like one cube that hasn’t melted yet).

“Thanks,” Harry says, setting the hot tea down on the desk next to the bed he and Niall share. He then goes over to Zayn and Louis and hands them the pizza box.

“Sweet!” Louis opens the box the second it’s in his hands and digs in. “Thanks Harry.”

“No problem,” Harry returns to the bed and lays down, using a spoon to drink some of the hot tea.

“Are you feeling any better?” Niall immediately asks, laying down to his right.

Harry wouldn’t necessarily say that. He’s still dreading tomorrow and the fact that he’ll be here instead of at home. It was nice to see Barbara at least, but that also just reminded him of home and past Christmases where she’d occasionally come over to visit him and his family. He shrugs, drinking more of his hot tea.

“Well you will be,” Niall assures him. “Because tomorrow is gonna be sick.”

“I hope that means it’s gonna be awesome and you’re not coming down with something.” Niall laughs loudly at that and the sound of his laugh does make Harry feel just a little bit better.

About an hour later, Zayn and Louis are finally done with their nightly round of video gaming – Louis snuck the controller and games on board with them - and the four of them get ready to go to bed. Louis keeps arguing that Zayn cheated (as he always does when he loses) until finally Niall says “be quiet or I’m taking your video game controllers away.”

“Thank you,” Harry whispers as he lays down next to him. Harry loves Zayn and Louis to death, but he can’t stand when they get in heated arguments over video games. Although, to Zayn’s credit, it’s usually Louis who does all the arguing.

“No problem,” Niall whispers back, pulling him closer. “Goodnight.” With one last kiss, Harry turns off the light by the desk and they both close their eyes.

***

When Harry wakes up and looks at the clock, it’s already 11:30 AM. His heart skips a beat until he remembers that today’s Christmas and he didn’t volunteer to work today. Still, he tells himself, it is pretty late. Niall must have let him sleep in. Speaking of which, where is Niall? He’s not on the bed beside him anymore. Harry gets up and goes to see if he’s getting up to something with Zayn and Louis, but before he can make it to the other side of the wall that separates the two beds, Zayn, Louis, and Niall all come out at once, holding plates of various desserts in their hands. “Surprise!” the three of them say at once.

Harry screams, jumping back, resulting in laughter from the other boys. “What the heck was that for?”

“Oh come on, don’t pretend you didn’t secretly like it,” Louis winks, resulting in a glare from Harry.

Niall walks over to him. “We’re going to make certain you have the best Christmas ever.”

“Psh, I doubt it,” Harry responds. “Unless you’re planning to make Jess angry by taking me back home a day early, I don’t see how it’s possible to have a great Christmas here.”

“You’ll see,” Niall insists. “Now come over here and try some of this delicious cake.”

Harry sighs but obliges anyway. He’s not sure how food could make him feel any better, no matter how good it is, but he’s not going to let whatever money Niall spent go to waste. He takes a bite of each of the desserts Niall, Louis, and Zayn are holding, and they really are delicious. He gives a thumbs up to show his satisfaction.

“I’m glad you like them,” Niall beams, handing the now empty plate to Zayn. “Because we’re going there tonight.”

“Going… where?” Harry raises an eyebrow. He’s still confused as to how Niall is planning to make him feel better, but he’s not going to say no to a dinner out.

Niall smiles. “Serendipity’s.”

Harry’s jaw drops open. “For real?” He’s been wanting to go to Serendipity’s ever since he accidentally found the menu for it on Google. He can’t believe he almost forgot about that place.

Niall, Louis, and Zayn nod happily. Harry runs up to Niall and leads him into a hug that collapses them both on the ground, both laughing and kissing each other. “I love you so much,” Harry tells him between kisses.

“Umm… should we go? Is this going to turn into something else?” Zayn asks.

Harry rolls his eyes at him. As if he’d ever dream of having sex on the floor of a hotel, especially when he’s here for work. When he finally stops hogging Niall’s lips, he stands up and starts heading back to the bed.

“Oh no, no, no,” Niall says, pulling him towards him again. Harry’s so confused. Does Niall want to turn it into something else? Because there’s absolutely no way they’re having sex in here. “Get on your swimming suit. We’re going swimming. Well… you, me, and Louis are going swimming. Zayn’s going to sit by the pool and read a book or something.”

“What if I don’t want to?” Harry pouts. He doesn’t really not want to, he loves to swim. He just wants to go back to bed until it’s time to go to Serendipity’s.

Niall seems to read his mind, and rolls his eyes. “And what would you rather do? Lay in bed and wallow in self-pity? You’re coming with us to go swim and you’re going to have an awesome time.”

Niall always seems to have a way with words. Harry goes to change into his swim trunks and the four of them head down to the pool area. Like Niall said, Zayn sticks to the side lines to read a book called Every Day by David Levithan. However, he picks a seat close enough to give Louis easy splashing access. He may roll his eyes and tell Louis to stop, but Harry thinks that secretly he picked that spot just so that very thing would happen.

Niall was right about another thing too: Harry does have an awesome time. For the two hours they’re down there, he and Niall play water games with each other, including chasing each other around the pool. Even though there are a ton of other people in the pool as well, living in DC they’re used to having a lot of other people around them, so they hardly notice it. At one point Niall, Harry, and Louis all join people in the sports area of the pool to play water volley ball. Louis gets super competitive of course and cheers every time people on the other side get splashed in the face by the ball. Harry and Niall giggle whenever he gets his own face splashed on by the ball, even though the three of them are on the same team. 

Finally, when Louis is exhausted and doesn’t even want to splash Zayn anymore, Niall decides it’s time to go back upstairs. Harry’s disappointed; he was having so much fun with them. However, the last thing he wants is to face Louis’ fury, so he doesn’t push it. “That was awesome!” Harry yells when they’re back in the room and he’s gotten dressed. Zayn is laying down on the bed with Louis on his stomach, comforting him and massaging his shoulders. Louis didn’t have enough energy to dry off or get dressed, but Zayn doesn’t seem to mind the fact that he’s getting water all over his clothes, as long as Louis is comfortable.

Niall smiles at Harry. “See? I told you. Nothing better than a good swim.” He looks at the clock. “We still have a while before dinner though, and everybody knows it’s not Christmas without a little shopping. What do you say? Wanna go to the mall?”

“But what about Louis?” Harry asks, unsure. He doesn’t want Louis or Zayn to feel left out, even if Louis laughed when Harry got splashed in the face.

“It’s okay,” Louis assures him. “I’ll be fine here with Zayn. Besides, we’ll all be going to Serendipity’s together later anyway.”

“Umm… okay,” Harry replies, still not completely sure. He follows Niall out anyway. When there’s enough distance between them and the room door he asks “is offering to take me shopping when Louis can’t go your polite way of saying ‘I haven’t bought Zayn and Louis Christmas presents yet’?”

“Maybe,” Niall shrugs. “I haven’t really bought anyone’s Christmas presents yet to be honest.” Harry responds with an offended sound. He remembered to get Niall’s present before leaving DC. “Other than yours.”

Harry feels a little bit better after hearing that. When they get to the mall, there are so many amazing clothes and hats Harry wishes he could buy for himself, but he also hasn’t bought anyone but Niall and his family presents yet, so he tries to focus on picking out things for his friends. He decides to get a sketchbook for Zayn since he’s been talking about needing a new one lately, as well as a whoopee cushion for Louis since he loves those kinds of things. After showing it to Niall, Niall has to go back and get a new present for him because he thought of the same thing. Eventually, the two of them decide they have bought presents for everybody they care about.

“Listen,” Harry says. “I know that we’re going to Serendipity’s tonight, but I didn’t get much breakfast other than those desserts so can we go to the food court or something?”

“Sure,” Niall obliges. They take the escalator down to the food court and order a salad for Harry and a hamburger for Niall.

As Harry’s enjoying his salad, suddenly his phone rings. He picks it up and sighs when he sees who it is that’s calling. “Hi mum.”

“Hi Harry,” his mom responds on the other line. “I just wanted to call and wish you a merry Christmas. Your sister, father, and I are really missing you today.”

“The feeling is mutual,” he replies, trying not to sound as sad as he feels.

His mom makes a sound like she’s trying to stop herself from crying. “Well I hope you have a merry Christmas. Wish one to Niall, Zayn, and Louis for me as well.”

“I will. Merry Christmas, mum.”

“Merry Christmas, Harry.”

He presses the ‘end call’ button and sighs, putting it back in his pocket. He doesn’t know why he thought this day was going to be a good one. As much fun as he may have had swimming and shopping and spending all this time with Niall, Zayn, and Louis, it still hurts that he’s not at home with his parents and sister. He bites his lip hard to hold back the tears. He’s not allowing himself to cry in a public place.

“No,” Niall says, reaching out to hold his hand. “No sad faces are allowed today.”

He bites his lip harder, afraid it’s going to start bleeding soon. “Niall I really do appreciate all that you’ve done today to help me have a really awesome Christmas, and it’s nothing against you or Zayn or Louis, but I just wish I was back home with my family and not stuck here because of my dumb job.” He puts his free hand over his mouth. He doesn’t really mean that, he loves his job. He just hates the fact that he has to be stuck here on Christmas of all days.

Now Niall has a sad face, which only makes Harry feel worse. “Listen, I know how it feels. Even though he may be a pain in the butt at times, I miss my brother Greg and my parents too. But we’re family too; you, me, Zayn, and Louis. Maybe we’re not related by blood but our love for each other is strong. And I promise I will make this day the best day ever. It’s only 2 PM, there’s still plenty of time to turn it around.”

Harry seriously doubts that, but doesn’t say it out loud because it’s still really sweet of Niall to want to try. “Can we just go back to the hotel?”

“Of course.” Niall releases his hand and they stand up together. Harry throws away the remainder of his salad, not feeling very hungry anymore. 

When they return to the hotel room, Louis is up and well again and he and Zayn are watching Christmas movies together. “Hey,” Louis calls, moving over a little bit. “Come join us. A Christmas Story is on right now.”

“Sure, whatever,” Harry says in a monotone. He and Niall head over to sit next to him. Louis gives him a concerned look a few times, but Harry doesn’t want to explain why he’s unhappy. He just wants to watch these dumb Christmas movies and forget about his dumb job that made him come to this dumb city. By the time A Christmas Story is over, he’s feeling a little bit better, but not by much. That movie can always make him laugh, no matter how upset he may be feeling.

At 4:30, in the middle of Home Alone, someone knocks on the door. Harry doesn’t want to see anyone other than the people beside him right now, and there’s no way Zayn or Louis are moving during this movie, so after a few moments, Niall gets up and answers it. “Who is it? Oh, hi Jess.” At the sound of Jess’s name, Harry does get up and walks towards the door.

“Hi Harry,” Jess says when he gets to the door. “Are you two coming to the company dance tonight?”

“What company dance?” Harry asks, not remembering.

“The one we do yearly for Christmas.” He does recall Ms. Cabello mentioning a Christmas dance a few times, but he never went to it because he was always with his family during that time. “It’s happening from 5 to 7 in room 8b. You don’t have to stay the whole time though, of course.”

“Umm… I don’t know-”

“We’ll be there,” Niall cuts him off.

“Great! Can’t wait to see you two. Bye.” On that note, they wave goodbye to each other and Jess walks away.

“What about Serendipity’s?” Harry asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Jess said we don’t have to stay the whole time,” Niall reasons, walking back over to the bed Zayn and Louis are on. “Besides, it’ll be fun.”

Harry follows him. “Niall, I really don’t feel like dancing right now.”

“I know, but I’m certain it’ll cheer you up. Come on, please?” 

As much as he wants to, Harry can’t resist it when Niall pulls that pouting face. “Fine.”

“Did I hear something about dancing?” Louis asks when they get back over to him.

“Yeah, Harry’s co-workers are having a dance in thirty minutes in room 8b,” Niall responds proudly. Harry glares at him. Why would he tell Louis the room number?

“Cool, can we come?” Louis presses eagerly. “I have some sick dance moves I’ve been working on.” The three others giggle as Louis demonstrates his ‘sick’ dance moves. _More like dance moves that make you sick to look at_ , Harry thinks to himself.

“I don’t think so,” Niall replies. “I think this is only for people who are part of Harry’s company and their dates.”

“Aw man,” Louis pouts. Harry is impressed that that actually stopped him; usually Louis does what he wants, no matter what the rules are.

“It’s probably for the best,” Zayn reasons, patting his shoulder. “You know I can’t dance to save my life.”

“Oh come on,” Niall says. “Don’t sell yourself short there.”

Zayn smiles. “Thanks mate.” Harry smiles as well. He loves the ability Niall has to put a smile on everyone’s faces and make sure they know they’re loved.

“Hmph,” Louis says, still pouting. “I still don’t think it’s fair that we can’t go. You New York Times people get all the fun stuff.”

Harry laughs. “I’m sorry Lou. I really wish you and Zayn could come with us.”

“It’s okay,” Zayn assures him, rubbing Louis’ shoulders some more. He’s not completely sure if Louis actually enjoys it when Zayn does that or if Zayn just does it out of habit. “Wait, but when are we going to Serendipity’s then?”

“We’re still gonna go,” Niall tells him. “We don’t have to stay for the full dance. We’ll come back here around six and then get ready to go.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Zayn responds.

“Well, on that note,” Niall says, grabbing Harry’s arm. “I must be off to sweep Harry off his feet. Enjoy watching Home Alone.”

“Enjoy feet sweeping,” Zayn calls, laughing at his own joke. Niall laughs too and leads Harry to the door.

***

When they arrive at the room, Harry is taken aback. It’s so much bigger than the rooms they’ve been staying in. It’s like being in a completely different building; there’s a table with a punch bowl, fruits and veggies, various chocolates, and crisps. There are also tables and chairs out close to the left of it. A little ways past that is a dance floor with most of the employees and their dates, dancing to Don’t by Ed Sheeran.

“Ooh, I love this song,” Niall immediately says, starting to pull Harry to the dance floor.

“Wait,” Harry resists. “I want to eat some of these snacks.”

Niall rolls his eyes. “Of course you do. The second you see a banana you just have to have it.” He follows him anyway and ends up taking a ton of the crisps.

Harry pulls Niall closely for a moment and, with his hands on Niall’s hips, whispers “are you complaining now? Whenever I see your banana I just have to have it too.” He winks and pulls away, returning to the fruit.

Niall stares at him judgmentally for a moment. “That was really bad.”

“Yeah but you love me anyway,” Harry responds, putting a few strawberries and bananas on his plate.

“True,” Niall nods, putting even more crisps on his plate. The two of them walk over to one of the tables and sit down. Niall immediately starts scarfing down crisps. “Awww,” he comments with his mouth full. “The song is over!”

“I’m sure it’ll play again later on,” Harry tells him, peeling one of the bananas on his plate. “It is a very popular song.”

“Very true,” Niall agrees, mouth still full of crisps.

“Harry!” Harry turns around at the sound of the voice.

“Oh hi Jess,” he says.

“So glad you could make it after all.”

“Well once Niall made promises of feet sweeping how could I resist?” Harry laughs.

“Niall?” Jess questions. Harry almost forgot that Jess is just a stand-in for Ms. Cabello and doesn’t really work with them on a regular basis.

“Yeah, my date.” Harry points in Niall’s direction.

Niall is still stuffing his face and has crisp crumbs all over his mouth and fingers when he looks up and waves.

“You really can pick them,” Jess chuckles. “Well, hope to see you and Niall on the floor soon to do that umm… feet sweeping you were talking about…”

“Will do,” Harry responds, waving. After Jess is gone, Harry turns to Niall and notices him glaring. “Don’t take anything Jess says too seriously.”

Niall swallows and says “whatever. We’ll show ’em shortly on the floor.”

Harry laughs and returns to eating his fruit. Niall finishes eating before he does (which isn’t surprising because he had to have scarfed down like fifty crisps at once) but waits patiently for Harry to finish eating.

When he’s finally done, Niall is about to bring him to the floor, but then they see Jess speaking at a stage in the center of the floor.

“Good evening everyone,” Jess says into the microphone, pressing it a few times. “Merry Christmas!” Everybody else there says ‘merry Christmas’ back. “Now I know a few of you aren’t very happy to be here, away from your family and friends” Harry recoils because he’s pretty sure he’s the only one who’s sad about that and doesn’t appreciate the reminder “but I think a lot of you are also very happy because you get to be in New York City and experience new things you’ve never experienced before. So on that note, I’d like to thank you all for coming here and celebrating this special time with us. And to really kick off our celebration I have a song I think you all are going to love. Once again, merry Christmas!”

Harry feels sick to his stomach. That comment about being sad about not being home with family and friends made him want to bolt out the door right now. However, his thoughts simmer when he recognizes the song that’s playing.

_Walking through a crowd, the village is aglow. Kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats…_

He stands up immediately and pulls Niall to the floor. Unlike Harry did when they first got here, Niall doesn’t resist the pull and follows with eagerness. Harry remembers when he first heard this song back in DC when one of his co-workers was playing it. He remembers wanting to know what was so great about this New York that people always talked about, wanting to go there and experience it one day. As he’s dancing he realizes that, with Niall in his arms and Zayn and Louis back at their room, this really isn’t as bad as he’s been making it. There are so many things about New York to love that he’s been too busy being sad to truly appreciate, and one of the biggest ones is the fact that he’s experiencing it with the man right in front of him.

He and Niall dance for hours. Harry trips a few times, which Niall laughs at, but then proceeds to help him up. Finally they hear Jess say, “And with that our Christmas dance is over. Thank you so much to everyone that attended. Get some good rest tonight and remember to check that you have all your belongings. Tomorrow we head back to DC.” 

Harry’s smile suddenly breaks into a frown and he cusses as he looks at the time on his phone. “It’s already 7:00? What about Serendipity’s with Zayn and Louis?” He cusses a few more times as he turns to try and run, but he’s danced so much for so long that his feet are in pain and he immediately falls over.

Niall doesn’t laugh this time but helps pick him up. “Woah, calm down love. Don’t hurt yourself. I’m sure they won’t be too angry at us. Well… Louis might be but he’ll get over it when he tries the delicious food they have there.”

“I hope so…” Harry says, still unsure.

“Come on, let’s go back to the room,” Niall tells him, taking his hand in his. The two of them start walking back to their room, slower than they did when going from there to the dance because of their sore feet.

When they finally get back to the room, Louis gives them a glare. “Took you all long enough.”

“Louis,” Zayn says, giving him a small cheek kiss. “Be nice.” He then turns to Niall and Harry and asks “was it fun?”

“It was fantastic!” Harry bursts out. “They had great food, as well as fantastic song choices. I loved it so much.”

“Wow,” Zayn’s eyes widen, a smile forming on his face. “Harry I don’t think I’ve seen you this happy since we left DC.”

“I know,” Harry says. “I finally realized that my mum, dad, and sister wouldn’t be happy if I spent all my time here crying over them. They’d want me to have fun. And besides, this is NEW YORK. I’m so happy to be here with you guys and I’m mad at myself for taking this long to realize it.”

Niall has the widest smile, which only makes Harry’s smile even larger. “Well,” Niall tells him. “It’s not quite over yet. Still want to go to Serendipity’s?”

“Heck yeah!” Harry cheers. Niall laughs, shaking his head fondly. They wait for Zayn and Louis (which takes a few minutes since Louis is nothing if not stubborn) and then head off, taking one of the marked New York Times cars.

When they get there and get seated, Harry is practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. He’s been dying to try the food they have here since forever.

“I still don’t think it’s fair that you guys got to go to that dance and we didn’t,” Louis says.

 _Yep_ , Harry thinks to himself. _Nothing if not stubborn._ “You know,” he says out loud. “I don’t think it is either. How’s this? When we get back home we can have a special New Year’s dance, just the four of us?”

Louis thinks about this for a moment, trying to hold his firm expression but eventually breaking into a smile. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”

“Yay!” Harry cheers. Louis laughs at him, smile growing. A few moments later the waiter comes to take their order. The dinner lasts for about an hour; Harry and Niall wanted to order dessert (“Dinner just isn’t complete without it!” Harry argues) and after seeing all the dessert options, Louis and Zayn followed suite. They don’t talk much throughout it but everybody’s happy and that’s what’s important.

When they get back to the hotel, Niall and Harry start giving out their presents. “Oh, were we supposed to bring those with us?” Zayn asks, a worried expression forming on his face.

“It’s okay if you didn’t,” Niall is quick to say. “We can open yours when we get home. That is, if you got us any of course.”

Zayn gives him a judgmental look. “Psh, what kind of best friends do you think we are? Of course you’re getting presents.”

“Okay,” Niall says, passing the presents he and Harry bought for the two of them towards them. “Zayn do you want to open yours first?”

“Oh that must mean mine are really crummy, right?” Louis says, eyeing the presents.

“No, I just wanted to a-”

“Too late!” Louis rips both Niall and Harry’s presents for him open all at once. “A whoopee cushion and Grease T-shirt?” he exclaims happily. “I love you guys so much.” He walks over to pull both Niall and Harry into a hug, but is still holding the whoopee cushion so it activates. “Gosh Harry. Come on. Did they serve beans at that dance or something?” Niall laughs really hard at his joke.

“Okay, I guess now it’s my turn to open them?” Zayn asks. Without waiting for a reply, he opens them, Harry’s first, Niall’s second. “Oh my gosh, a new sketchpad and water colors? Thanks so much guys.” He also goes to hug the two of them, but not before setting down his presents. When he sits back down, a fart noise comes from below him. He glares at Louis, who is looking away and whistling innocently. Niall and Harry both crack up.

“And now…” Harry says, turning to Niall. “My gift for you.” He hands him the present, excitement building up in him.

“Oh my gosh,” Niall gasps when he opens it. He holds up two tickets to a game in a few months for his favorite soccer team. “How did you get these? These are like almost impossible to get.”

“Only the best for my boyfriend,” Harry smiles. Niall pulls him into the tightest kiss ever, but it doesn’t last long because he still has to give Harry his present. He pulls away and gets down on his knees, gift box in hand. “What, is this like a marriage proposal or something?” Harry asks, laughing, jokingly holding out his hand in the style of someone about to be given a ring.

However, Niall then grasps his hand so he can’t move it from its place. “So while we were in the mall I was thinking. How am I really going to make this the best Christmas either of us have ever had? And although my original present for you is great, I think this is truly the best thing I can give you. Don’t worry, you’re still getting your original present for your birthday, but this is a million times better.”

“Niall, what-”

Before he can finish the question though, Niall opens the box and his jaw drops. As Niall takes out the ring and puts it on Harry’s finger, he says, “Harry Styles, will you marry me?”

Harry tries to stop himself from crying, but he can’t help it, he does. “Yes, I will.” At that, Niall breaks into a huge smile. Harry pulls him off the ground and into a huge hug and kiss, tears not being able to stop.

In the background, he can hear Zayn sobbing a little bit as well and saying “aww…”

“You better get me a ring as awesome as that,” Louis says to him. Zayn slaps him. “Ouch.” Now it sounds to Harry like the two of them are kissing as well, but he can’t be bothered to look because he’s too focused on Niall. He can’t believe this actually happened; that the love of his life proposed to him, that he’s engaged now. Niall truly did follow through with his plan to make this the best Christmas ever.

That night, as the four of them are in bed, Harry turns to Niall. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Niall questions.

“For truly making this the best Christmas ever,” Harry summarizes. “I’m sorry I was such a mess at first, but I’m truly thankful for all you have done for me during this time period.”

“What are we, chopped liver?” Louis calls.

Harry laughs. “And of course I’m thankful for Louis and Zayn as well. Thanks to all of you for helping me feel a million times better. I love you all.”

“We love you too,” Niall says, Zayn and Louis making noises of agreement. He turns so that he and Harry are nose to nose with each other. “And thank you.”

That night, Niall and Harry fall asleep in each other’s arms and are cuddling until Zayn and Louis have to tell them it’s time to go. When Harry comes back home, he immediately goes to see his parents and sister. They all can’t wait to hear about his adventures in New York City, especially about that sparkling new ring on his left ring finger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. I'm sorry if you hate Taylor Swift or something, but I hope you enjoyed this fic nonetheless. Also, I wanted the reader to decide Jess's pronouns for themselves. Sorry if the lack of pronouns for that character was confusing.


End file.
